agriculture

Eligibility for fixed tariffs for excess energy fed into the grid – and exemption from the tendering process – has been widened from systems with a maximum generation capacity of 100 kW to 300 kW.

Semi-transparent organic solar cells can reduce the carbon footprint and raise the crop yield of greenhouses while acting as generators and insulation. Scientists in the U.S. say greenhouses equipped with organic cells could be energy self-sufficient year round in hot and moderate-humidity climates.

PV systems have helped farmers in the Philippines become less dependent on rain. Projects in Camarines Sur have shown pumping water with solar is not only cheap but can also raise rice yield.

The solar facility, near Lyon, will be developed by Engie unit Compagnie Nationale du Rhône. Tests will be carried out for three years at a project intended to demonstrate the benefits of combining solar with agriculture.

The company said its technology, which is managed by an AI-based system, can be used in agrivoltaic projects.

Another study has highlighted the advantages of combining solar with agriculture. According to the paper, growing chiltepin pepper, jalapeno and cherry tomato in dryland areas of the U.S. under the shade of PV modules is not only possible, but can lead to a better harvest.

This year’s Earth Overshoot Day falls on Friday, August 2. The current UN report on biodiversity protection does not report anything good. At least two reasons for our children to demonstrate on Fridays so that we not only talk, but act, says Ralf Schnitzler, project developer, solar parks, Bejulo GmbH. He believes that now is the time to take the energy revolution seriously. Below, he lays out his arguments and ideas on how the energy transition and other transformations could be possible with solar parks.

French renewables developer Arkolia Energies is planning to build a 313 MW solar power project near Larzac, in southern France. The facility should be connected to a power-to-gas plant, but the project has already raised concerns among locals and environmentalist activists, which have started a petition on Avaaz to prevent its construction.

The country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has urged regional governments and municipalities to grant licenses for solar PV parks on agricultural land only as a last resource. No restrictive measures, however, are being considered.

Although tobacco consumption is the key cause of avoidable deaths worldwide, its cultivation remains the main source of income for many farmers. Now, two researchers from the Michigan Technological University claim that converting tobacco fields to solar farms could be beneficial for two purposes: reducing deaths and helping solar energy fight climate change.